exemplary damages
Exemplary (or punitive) damages go beyond making good the plaintiff's loss. In Rookes v. Barnard the House of Lords confined them in English law to three categories: oppressive, arbitrary or unconstitutional action by government servants; conduct calculated to make a profit exceeding the compensation payable; and cases where a statute authorises them. They differ from aggravated damages, which compensate injured feelings.
Indian courts have awarded exemplary damages in tort, especially against public authorities, and in public-law compensation for violation of fundamental rights. They are not generally awarded for breach of contract, since s.73 of the Indian Contract Act, 1872 allows only compensation for loss caused.
Example
The court awarded exemplary damages against the police for the illegal detention, to mark its disapproval of the officers' arbitrary conduct.
In Indian law
- Rookes v. Barnard (House of Lords, 1964)
- Section 73, Indian Contract Act, 1872
See also
Read more in the study notes
- Banking as a service: consumer protection and the RBI Ombudsman (Banking Law)
- Letters to the consumer commission, Lok Adalat and RTI applications (Business Communications)
- Damages and remoteness (Contract I)
- Public interest litigation and the role of the judiciary in environmental protection (Environmental Law)
- Intergenerational equity and the public trust doctrine (Environmental Law)
- Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR I)